3 Popular Dental Appliances Used on Children

Many parents don’t see the importance of taking their kids to a dentist early on. They think milk teeth don’t need to be checked since they’ll just fall off and be replaced by permanent teeth. Dental visits, however, should start by one year of age or when the first tooth erupts.

Opting for a family dentistry practice in Highland Park is the best option. This way, all your family’s dental needs are catered to in the same place, and the dentist will most probably be equipped to handle all sorts of family dental issues. Here are some of the common appliances your dentist might recommend for your baby:

Space maintainers

Milk teeth are sometimes prematurely lost due to decay or trauma. When this happens, space maintainers are essential to prevent shifting of adjacent teeth to fill the gap left. The space maintainers act as “placeholders” for the eruption of permanent teeth. Fixed and removable space maintainers are the available types.

‘Palatal cribs’

Thumb sucking is a common practice among children, and some kids don’t outgrow the habit. Thumb sucking in kids more than five years old causes tooth impaction, misalignment and narrow arches. A ‘palatal crib’ is created and fixed to the baby’s teeth in much the same way as dental braces. This appliance reduces gratification from thumb sucking, efficiently stopping the habit.

Expansion appliances

Overbites and crossbites are common in children normally as a consequence of a narrowed arch. An expansion appliance might be recommended by a dentist to stretch and broaden your child’s arch, providing more space for proper tooth alignment. The appliances are customized. Kids born with cleft palate are also sometimes advised to get an expansion appliance in preparation for surgery.